- Since the beginning of 2018, the supermarket is set to open 19 new stores by the end of February, as demand for Lidl grows among UK shoppers

- Five new stores to open today in Edinburgh, Stockton, Hull, Polegate and Rosehill (South London), taking store count to 700

- New store openings in January and February have created over 700 new jobs

- Openings are the latest in Lidl’s £1.45bn expansion and development investment across 2017-2018

- The supermarket plans to open over 50 new stores and regenerate 30 existing stores in FY 2018

15 February 2018: Lidl, the UK’s fastest growing supermarket, has today reached a major milestone with the opening of five new stores, which takes its total store count in Great Britain to 700.

The new stores in Edinburgh, Stockton, Hull, Polegate and Rosehill (South London), form part of an accelerated period of expansion for Lidl, which sees the supermarket set to open up to 19 new stores over an eight week period*.

As a result of the openings, the supermarket, which opened the doors to its first British stores in 1994, has created over 700 new jobs, with 200 new employees celebrating the opening of their new stores today.

All new hourly paid store employees will be amongst the best paid in the industry, following Lidl’s commitment last November to pay the Living Wage, which comes into effect on 1st March this year.

“As the UK’s fastest growing supermarket, surpassing 700 stores is yet further proof of our ambitious rate of expansion across Britain. It’s great that more people than ever before have access to our high quality, fresh and locally sourced products at incredible value, and that as a result, we’re able to create more jobs for local communities up and down the country.”

The new stores form part of Lidl UK’s £1.45bn expansion investment in Great Britain across 2017-18, which includes plans to open over 50 new stores and regenerate 30 existing stores in FY 2018. The supermarket also announced plans at the beginning of the year for a major new Regional Distribution Centre in Luton, which is in addition to a further five new warehouses already in the pipeline.

The news follows a bumper Christmas for the grocer, which experienced a sales growth of 16% year on year. Lidl’s success shows no signs of slowing, with the latest Kantar Worldpanel results** outlining a sales growth of 16.3% year on year and market share of 5%, making it still the fastest growing supermarket in the UK.

London, 10 January 2018: Lidl UK was the fastest growing supermarket* over the Christmas period, achieving record sales for the month of December, as more customers than ever walked through the doors of its stores up and down the country.

Sales across the estate were up 16% on the same period in 2016, while the supermarket experienced its highest ever footfall. The busiest day of the season, which was also a record trading day in Lidl UK’s history, came on 22 December, while the week commencing 18 December 2017 was Lidl UK’s strongest ever trading week.

At Christmas, customers shopped at Lidl UK safe in the knowledge that they were getting market-leading value, after the retailer won Good Housekeeping’s award for the ‘Cheapest Christmas Basket 2017’ which was priced at £25.53.

Lidl UK’s Birchwood Farm whole fresh turkey, available for £3.89 per kilogram, was the most competitively priced among all UK supermarkets and this contributed to a 10% increase in turkey sales. Overall, fresh meat and poultry sales grew by 17% for the period.

Roughly 600 tonnes of brussels sprouts, 17 million mince pies, and over 800,000 litres of Champagne and Prosecco were sold. Sales of Champagne and Prosecco were up 25% and 60% respectively.

Lidl’s Deluxe 24-month matured Christmas pudding, the world’s first, was one of the best-selling products in the range, contributing to a 60% increase in its luxury Christmas pudding sales.

Premium alcohol products also went down well with customers, with the introduction of brand new Deluxe liqueurs for the festive season, including crème de cassis, triple sec and cherry brandy. The bestselling products in this range were Lidl UK’s Hortus pink gin liqueurs, with 644 bottles being sold every hour throughout the Christmas period, contributing to a 39% increase in total gin sales.

Lidl UK’s store expansion also continued at pace in December, with the openings continuing throughout the holiday season. Nine new stores opened during this period and Lidl UK ends the year with 693 stores, up from 650 at the end of 2016. The 700th store is set to open early this year. To support its ambitious expansion, the supermarket also announced a new RDC for Greater London this week, which will be based near Luton and could potentially create up to 1,000 new jobs.

Christian Härtnagel, Lidl UK CEO, said: “Lidl UK has had a fantastic 2017 and this was capped by our strongest Christmas trading period to date. Customers came into our stores to buy more of their Christmas items, knowing they could find high quality products at market-leading prices. The commitment of our 20,500 colleagues across the country was key to our success during this busy period and I’m extremely grateful for their contribution. We look forward to bringing the Lidl offering to more communities across the UK, as we continue our rapid expansion plan this year.”

- New Regional Distribution Centre will be more than double the size of any other Lidl UK warehouse and will create up to 1,000 new jobs

- 58 acres at J11A of the M1 sold by Houghton Regis Management Co to Lidl

- New warehouse will be Lidl’s fourth for Greater London and 16th in Britain

- Forms part of Lidl’s £1.45bn investment in Britain between 2017-18 and ambitious expansion plans in Greater London

- Five new London stores to open in Shepherds Bush, Walthamstow Central, South Ruislip, Hornchurch and Rosehill in the next two months

- Follows opening of three new warehouses in past 18 months and plans for a further five new warehouses

8th January 2018: Lidl UK will create up to 1,000 new jobs through a major new Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) to service stores across Greater London, after exchanging contracts with the Houghton Regis Management Co (a consortium of Aviva Investors, LIH and the Diocese of St Albans) on a 58-acre site in Luton.

The new warehouse, which will be approximately 1,000,000ft², will be Lidl’s largest in the UK at double the size of any of its other warehouses across Great Britain.

Underlining the scale of the supermarket’s ambitious expansion plans in London, the RDC will be Lidl’s fourth for Greater London, supporting warehouses in Belvedere, Northfleet and Enfield, and its 16th in the UK.

Along with the supermarket’s other London RDCs, the new warehouse will manage the supply and distribution of food and non-food products to Lidl stores in and around the M25, whilst supporting the supermarket’s continued growth in Greater London. In the next two months the supermarket will open five new London stores, including Shepherds Bush, Walthamstow Central, South Ruislip, Hornchurch and Rosehill.

Ingo Fischer, Lidl UK Board Director for Expansion and Development, said: “As more London households choose to shop at Lidl we are committed to the continued investment in our operations and infrastructure to support our growth.

“With five new stores opening in the next two months alone, and further store expansion and development plans in place for the Greater London area across the new financial year and beyond, this new warehouse is vital in supporting our ambitious expansion plans in and around the M25.”

The transaction is part of the first phase of the development of this key strategic site being led by the consortium, following the opening of the new J11A of the M1 giving direct access to the 630 acre site. The consented scheme comprises 5,000 houses 3 primary schools and a further 1m sq ft of commercial and retail space .

David Skinner, Managing Director of UK Real Estate at Aviva Investors, said: “We are delighted to have secured Lidl as an owner occupier on this important strategic land site. The wider consented scheme has consent for over 5,000 homes and, following the recent opening of the new M1 motorway junction, we intend to commence development in early 2019”.

The new distribution centre, which forms part of Lidl UK’s £1.45bn expansion investment in Great Britain between 2017-18, follows the opening of two new RDCs in Exeter and Wednesbury in 2017, and the announcement of a further three new warehouses in Doncaster, Bolton and Peterborough. Construction has also begun on two new warehouses in Avonmouth and Eurocentral, Scotland, which will replace its existing warehouses in Weston-Super-Mare and Livingston respectively.

Since Lidl first opened its doors in the UK in 1994 it has been responding to customer demand for its quality products at low prices, and now has over 690 stores nationwide.

- Warehouse will be Lidl’s 12th in the UK and will service 51 stores across the South West

- Supermarket expected to distribute 40k turkeys, 1.5m mince pies and 100k bottles of Prosecco to the South West during the Christmas period

- Opening follows news this week that Lidl is now the highest-paying supermarket in Britain

10 November 2017: Lidl UK has officially started operations from its new Regional Distribution Centre in Exeter. This £55 million investment has created approximately 500 jobs and will service 40 stores across the region during the busy Christmas period, rising to 51 from February 2018. The new, 50,000 m² hub in the Exeter Gateway business park comes as part of Lidl’s wider investment and modernisation programme across the South West.

The Regional Distribution Centre will serve stores from Penzance to as far as Burnham-on-Sea and across to Weymouth, with 1,700 pallets of products projected to go through its premises every day. The warehouse, which is now gearing up for the busy Christmas period, is predicted to distribute a staggering 40k turkeys, 1.5m boxes of mince pies, 100k bottles of Prosecco, 150k packs of carrots, 100k packs bags of parsnips and 100k packs of Brussels sprouts in the week leading up to Christmas day.

Lidl continues to invest in the South West region, with half of its existing estate being refurbished in the next year. The retailer has also confirmed contracts with 14 suppliers, including Wyke Farms, County Confectionary , Kanes Foods and Crediton Dairy in the area, which will be worth over £100million across the next five years. The company offers its partners extensive export opportunities to Lidl markets across the globe.

Mark Henry, Regional Director at Lidl said: “Christmas is the busiest and most exciting time of year at Lidl. This new Regional Distribution Centre will play an essential role in helping us meet growing customer demand for our award-winning products”.

“The South West is an important region for Lidl and it’s an area where we’ve experienced particularly strong growth. We remain committed to creating high-quality jobs for the communities we serve and this new centre gives us another great opportunity to do just that.”

Lidl has ambitious expansion plans across the UK, with an investment aim of £1.45bn by 2019. Regional Distribution Centres will make up a significant part of this objective, with this latest RDC opening becoming the 12th in the Lidl portfolio. This is the third Regional Distribution Centre opened by the Supermarket in the past 12 months, helping to provide customers with great value and high-quality products at Lidl prices, whilst creating approximately 1,500 new jobs in total.

The opening follows an announcement from the supermarket earlier this week, that it is now the highest-paying supermarket in the UK, after giving all 16,000 of its hourly-paid employees a raise. This includes increasing entry level wages to the new voluntary living wage rate, as announced by the Living Wage Foundation, to ensure that salaries support the real cost of living. In 2015 the supermarket became the first British supermarket to make this commitment.

Since Lidl first opened its doors in the UK in 1994 it has been responding to growing customer demand, with 680 stores nationwide to date. The supermarket continues to be the fastest growing in the UK, with the most recent Kantar supermarket share data highlighting Lidl’s success in the country, with sales up 16% year on year.

- The new Regional Distribution Centre will be Lidl UK’s 15th and largest in Britain

- Forms part of Lidl’s £1.45bn investment in the UKThe warehouse is the supermarket’s sixth new RDC to be announced in a year

3rd October 2017: Lidl UK has exchanged contracts on a 34-acre site in Peterborough where it plans to build a new 754,000ft² Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) which will be the supermarket’s 15th and largest in Great Britain, creating up to 500 new jobs for the area.

This increased size underlines Lidl UK’s ambitious expansion plans to invest £1.45bn in Great Britain between 2017-18. The warehouse, which is the supermarket’s sixth new RDC to be announced in a year, will manage the supply and distribution of food and non-food items to stores in the surrounding area, using the latest energy efficient and zero-carbon technologies.

Head of Warehouse Expansion, Adrienne Howells said, “We are very excited about our proposed Regional Distribution Centre in Peterborough. Our expansion across the UK is progressing rapidly, and it’s important we have the right supply chain infrastructure to support this. Peterborough is ideally located and we’re pleased to be bringing more jobs to the local community”.

Lidl UK will now seek to obtain satisfactory planning consent for the site.

Earlier this year, the grocer opened its 11th new warehouse in Wednesbury and more recently announced the start of construction at its Doncaster RDC and its Scottish RDC which is relocating to Eurocentral. A further warehouse in Bolton is also in the pipeline, along with the relocation of Lidl’s Weston-Super-Mare distribution centre to Avonmouth.

Since Lidl first opened its doors in the UK in 1994 it has been responding to customer demand for its quality products at low prices, now with 670 stores nationwide. Lidl UK’s success shows no signs of slowing, as the latest Kantar Worldpanel results* highlighted the supermarket as the fastest growing in the UK with sales up 19.2% year on year and a market share high of 5.3%.

17 July, 2017:Lidl UK has today announced that construction will begin today on its new Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) at iPort in Rossington, Doncaster.

Lidl is working with construction firm Winvic Construction Ltd to build the RDC, which will create up to 500 new jobs when opened. The build is expected to be completed by spring 2019.

The RDC will be Lidl’s 13th in the UK, forming part of the supermarket’s commitment to invest £1.45bn in Great Britain between 2017-18. With sustainability credentials in mind, the development will incorporate leading efficiency measures to guarantee minimum impact on the environment, including the latest energy efficient mechanical and electrical equipment available, from innovative heat recovery systems to renewable and other zero-carbon technologies.

Adrienne Howells, Lidl UK’s Head of Warehouse Expansion, said: “Our new Lidl Doncaster warehouse is absolutely necessary to accommodate the growing scale of our existing and future operations in the area, as well as providing hundreds of new job opportunities for the local economy. We’re excited to be in a position to break ground and start the build.”

“We are incredibly proud of the teams here at Lidl that have been working in the background to get our new warehouses off the ground, and would like to extend our thanks to all those involved for their hard work and dedication.”

Earlier this year, the grocer opened its 11th new warehouse in Wednesbury and is due to open its 12th in Exeter later in the year, along with the relocation of its Scottish RDC to Eurocentral which began construction just last week and will create over 350 additional jobs. A further warehouse in Bolton is also in the pipeline, along with the relocation of Lidl’s Weston-Super-Mare distribution centre to Avonmouth.

Lidl’s success continues as the latest Kantar Worldpanel results* highlighted the supermarket as the fastest growing in the UK with sales up 18.8% year on year and a market share high of 5%.

Wednesday 12th July 2017: Lidl UK has announced that construction has started on its new Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) at Eurocentral in North Lanarkshire.

Lidl is working with construction firm Winvic Construction Ltd to build the RDC, which will create up to 360 additional jobs when opened. The build is expected to be completed by winter 2019.

The RDC will replace the current warehouse in Livingston, which first opened in 1996 and has 429 employees. The relocation forms part of the supermarket’s commitment to invest £1.45bn in Great Britain between 2017-18. With sustainability credentials in mind, the development will incorporate leading efficiency measures to guarantee minimum impact on the environment, including the latest energy efficient mechanical and electrical equipment available, from innovative heat recovery systems to renewable and other zero-carbon technologies.

Ross Millar, Lidl UK’s Managing Director for Scotland, said: “As we continue to invest in our property portfolio and open new stores, it is vital to have the supply chain infrastructure to support this. Our new Distribution Centre is therefore necessary to secure our future growth in Scotland. It is equally as important to be able to provide new job opportunities for the local economy in addition to the existing jobs we currently have. As such, we’re incredibly excited to break ground and start the build.”

“We are incredibly proud of the teams here at Lidl that have been working in the background to get our new RDC off the ground, and would like to extend our thanks to all those involved for their hard work and dedication.”

Earlier this year, the grocer opened its 11th new warehouse in Wednesbury and is due to open its 12th in Exeter later in the year. Construction of its new Doncaster warehouse is also scheduled to start imminently. A further warehouse in Bolton is also in the pipeline, along with the relocation of its Weston-Super-Mare distribution centre to Avonmouth.

Lidl’s success continues as the latest Kantar Worldpanel results* highlighted the supermarket as the fastest growing in the UK with sales up 18.8% year on year and a market share high of 5%.

- Long-term commitment from the supermarket will enable the charity to reach one million children with its ‘Speak Out Stay Safe’ primary school programme

- Support is vital, with two children in every classroom suffering some form of abuse

19th April 2017: A new partnership between the NSPCC and Lidl UK will enable the children’s charity to reach one million primary school children with crucial advice on how to stay safe from abuse.

The supermarket chain is committed to raising £3 million over the next three years for the NSPCC’s Schools Service.

Currently the charity has only managed to get into two-thirds of primary schools across the country with their ‘Speak Out! Stay Safe’ programme.

But with Lidl UK’s support the NSPCC will be looking to reach every primary school with their interactive assemblies and workshops designed to keep young children happy and safe from abuse.

The new partnership, which is the NSPCC’s first with a major supermarket, was the result of a vote that was opened up to Lidl’s 20,000 employees who work in its 650 stores and 11 distribution centres across the UK.

Through the partnership, Lidl UK employees will also be given the opportunity to volunteer with the NSPCC to see the work the charity does with children and young people first hand.

They will also be able to witness ‘Speak Out! Stay Safe’ being delivered in primary schools close to the stores where they work, seeing for themselves how children are being taught to protect their bodies and encouraged to speak out if something is wrong.

Peter Wanless, Chief executive of the NSPCC said:

“We are delighted that Lidl UK have chosen us as their charity partner. Their support means we will be able to train enough volunteers to deliver our schools service to every primary school in the UK, enabling us to reach one million children with crucial advice on how to stay safe and happy.

“This is especially important when you consider that two children in every classroom have suffered some form of abuse, a state of affairs that is completely unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue.

“Lidl’s long-term commitment to support the NSPCC will help us tackle this problem and ensure many more young people are given the opportunity to enjoy a happy childhood.”

Christian Härtnagel, CEO of Lidl UK, said: “With 650 stores and 20,000 employees nationwide, Lidl UK is at the heart of communities across the country. We, therefore, feel proud that we are in a position to give back to those local communities by enabling the NSPCC to expand its Schools Service to every primary school in the UK.

“This isn’t just a commitment from the business, but one from all of our employees who voted for our new charity partner. We were all incredibly inspired by the work that the NSPCC does and, together, we are dedicated to helping them provide the vital support needed to keep children safe so that they can grow up healthy and thrive.”

13th April 2017: Lidl UK has today announced that it will become the first British supermarket to move to 100% sustainable cocoa in the ingredients of all of its own brand products, from the chocolate chips in its biscuits to the chocolate powder on its tiramisu, the chocolate coating on its ice creams and its entire range of Easter chocolates.

The news of the move, which will be complete by the end of April, coincides with the supermarket’s busiest day for sales of Easter eggs, assuring shoppers that the chocolate they buy this Easter weekend comes from sustainable sources.

Lidl UK is dedicated to offering its customers the highest quality products at the best prices, which includes ensuring that key ingredients, like cocoa, are ethically sourced. The supermarket, which permanently stocks over 120 own brand products that contain cocoa, has worked in collaboration with Fairtrade Foundation, UTZ and Rainforest Alliance. The move will help to improve the lives of cocoa farming communities across the world, by improving farming methods, protecting the environment and increasing income through fair prices. The commitment will also include all of the retailer’s seasonal and promotional lines that are stocked by Lidl UK throughout the year.

Ryan McDonnell, Lidl UK’s Commercial Board Director, commented: “Cocoa is a crucial ingredient for many of our products, so it is important to us, our customers and those that work across our supply chain, that it is sourced in a way that promotes sustainable production, improves working conditions and tackles wider social challenges.

“We are proud to be the first British supermarket to make the move to 100% sustainably sourced cocoa, and are pleased to be able to confirm the news ahead of the Easter weekend, when British families traditionally enjoy chocolate.”

Lidl UK’s announcement around Cocoa forms part of a wider commitment to responsible sourcing for a range of the supermarket’s key products and ingredients, including fish, tea, coffee and palm oil, helping to ensure that 100% of its products and ingredients are sustainably sourced.

[1] Lidl is currently in the process of updating its packaging to include the respective certification labels

- RDC will service 56 stores, with an additional 8 stores planned in the next two years

30th March 2017: Lidl UK has today announced the opening of its 11th Regional Distribution Centre (RDC), in Wednesbury, providing a major boost to the local economy and employment through the creation of 400 new jobs. The new RDC - the supermarket’s second to open in just six months - forms part of Lidl’s ongoing expansion plans in Great Britain and is its biggest warehouse in the UK, at 40,500 m².

The opening underlines the retailer’s commitment to the sustainable growth of its business both in the region and across the rest of the UK, as it continues to experience unprecedented sales growth.

The supermarket, which opened its first British-based RDC in 1994 in nearby Lutterworth, currently has warehouses in ten other locations up and down the country, including Southampton, Northfleet, Enfield, Belvedere, Bridgend, Livingston, Weston-Super-Mare, Lutterworth, Newton Aycliffe, and Runcorn.

Last year, the grocer opened a new warehouse in Southampton, and recently announced that plans to relocate and expand its Scottish RDC to Eurocentral, creating over 350 jobs, had been given the green light for construction, while further warehouses in Exeter, Doncaster and Bolton are also in the pipeline.

The new RDC, which is the size of 10 football pitches, boasts facilities of the highest design specification. Having been built with Lidl’s strong sustainability credentials in mind, the development incorporates leading efficiency measures to guarantee minimum impact on the environment, including the latest energy efficient mechanical and electrical equipment available, from innovative heat recovery systems to renewable and other zero-carbon technologies.

The opening of its Wednesbury RDC follows the commitment made by Lidl UK in November 2015 to invest £1.5 billion over the next three years, as it continues to expand its warehouses and 650-strong store portfolio to accommodate its rapid growth in the UK.

Richard Shaw, Lidl UK Regional Director for Wednesbury, said: “The opening of our new Lidl Wednesbury warehouse marks an incredibly exciting time for the business, particularly in and around the West Midlands. Not only is it necessary to accommodate the scale of our existing and future operations in the area, we have been able to create significant job opportunities as a result of the new warehouse and will continue to invest in the West Midlands and beyond, as we move forward with our expansion plans.

“We are incredibly proud of the teams here at Lidl that have been working in the background to get the new warehouse off the ground, and would like to extend our thanks to all those involved for their hard work and dedication.”

In October 2015 the supermarket became the first to introduce the real living wage, as set by the Living Wage Foundation, and were proud to be the first supermarket to announce a further increase in entry-level salaries, to match the Living Wage Foundation’s new rates in 2017. This will ensure that Lidl employees across its stores and regional distribution centres are amongst the best paid in the industry.

Lidl’s success continues with latest Kantar Worldpanel* figures showing a market share high of 4.6%. and year-on-year sales growth of 13%, making it the fastest growing supermarket in Britain.

- Supermarket cements its strong commitment to the British Farming industry through NFU’s ‘Back British Farming Charter’

21 March 2017: Lidl UK, Britain’s fastest-growing supermarket, has signed the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) ‘Back British Farming Charter’.

The Back British Farming Charter calls on the food industry to show support for British farming by strengthening its British product offerings and working in close partnership with British farmers to develop committed, fair, beneficial and transparent relationships.

With 70% of its core range sourced from British suppliers, and having worked closely with many of its suppliers for more than 15 years, the supermarket has long been passionate about supporting and maintaining strong relationships with its producers. Its unique business model, which operates a lean buying team with a simple, flat reporting structure, offers suppliers more streamlined channels of communication and enables the supermarket to develop long-term partnerships that contribute to sustainable British farming industry.

In addition to stocking British sourced products in its UK stores, Lidl also exports over £300m worth of British produce a year to 27 other countries, giving the rest of the world the opportunity to taste the best that Britain has to offer.

Christian Härtnagel, Lidl UK CEO, commented: “Our goal for the future is to continue to put best practice in sustainability firmly at the heart of the business, and supporting growth in the British farming sector is another crucial step in fulfilling that ambition.

“To ensure that we can always offer our customers the freshest, highest quality products at the best prices, it is imperative that we continue to support the British farming industry and further cultivate the strong relationships that we have with our suppliers.”

The announcement follows Lidl UK’s backing of the NFU’s Fruit and Vegetable Pledge in 2016, further demonstrating its commitment to ensuring that its sourcing process supports the growth and development of UK production

- North Lanarkshire Council planning committee grant planning permission for new Scottish

- Regional Distribution Centre (RDC)

- Lidl to invest in new RDC at Eurocentral

- New RDC will enable supermarket to create up to 360 new jobs

- Construction to commence within 6 months

23rd February 2017: Lidl UK, one of Britain’s fastest growing supermarkets, has today been given the go ahead by North Lanarkshire Council for a brand new Regional Distribution Centre at Eurocentral in North Lanarkshire

The food retailer, which became the first supermarket to pay its employees the real Living Wage, is planning a multi-million pound investment in the relocation of its 400 strong workforce from Livingston to the new site at Eurocentral, located off Coddington Crescent, which the company secured in 2016.

The planned 58,000 m² highly sustainable RDC will replace Lidl UK’s current Scottish headquarters, which the business originally moved into in 1996 and has since outgrown. This will enable the supermarket to provide enhanced support for the supermarket’s 92 stores up and down the country (from Kirkwall to Stranraer), as well as create more local job opportunities and allow for further expansion and investment in Scotland.

Ross Millar, Managing Director for Lidl in Scotland, commented: “We have worked very closely with North Lanarkshire Council since 2016 and are greatly encouraged by the committee’s decision at today's committee meeting.

“Our new RDC not only signifies an investment in our own infrastructure and workforce, but also highlights our wider ambitions within Scotland as Lidl UK continues to experience incredible growth.”

“Our expansion could not be possible without being able to recruit the right people and I am equally proud that we were the first supermarket to pay the Living Wage rate, as set by the Living Wage Foundation.”

The news follows the opening of a brand new Lidl distribution centre in Southampton in November 2016, which created more than 400 permanent jobs, along with further commitments to open new warehouses in Wednesbury, Exeter, Bolton and Doncaster which will create an additional 2,000 jobs combined.

25th January 2017: Lidl UK has announced the launch of a national food redistribution programme, in partnership with Neighbourly*, that will enable all Lidl stores across England, Scotland and Wales to donate food surplus to local food charities helping to tackle food poverty, which could equate to two million meals a year.

The national rollout follows a highly successful eight-week pilot programme with stores in and around Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, which helped to feed more than 3,400 people across community centres, elderly day care centres, housing support projects and children’s centres.

The first 100 Lidl stores will be fully active by the end of June 2017, with more stores joining the programme throughout the year and the ambition to have all stores participating by summer 2018.

Through the Neighbourly network, each store will be linked to local charitable projects that will be able to collect edible food surplus directly from the stores each day.

The supermarket has also become the first retailer to sign up to Neighbourly’s #FundaFridge Campaign, donating over 100 fridges and freezers to projects that struggle with storage for the food donations that they receive.

Daniela Tulip, Lidl UK Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, commented: “This new partnership provides a great opportunity for us to make a real, positive contribution to the communities that we operate in.

“Crucially, we are able to help improve charities’ ability to safely store food through the donation of fridges and freezers, which will increase their capacity to sustainably manage surplus food and, in turn, provide more meals for those who need them.”

“Using Neighbourly means that those most in need do not face the additional pressure of having to pay to have food surplus donations delivered,” commented Nick Davies, Founder of Neighbourly .

“As we’ve seen with the success of the pilot programme with Lidl, if adopted widely, this model could change how the supermarket industry deals with the redistribution of surplus food and provide a more holistic solution for community partners. ”As well as matching Lidl with local food projects via its online platform, Neighbourly attracts volunteers to help redistribute food surplus on a daily basis, eliminating transportation costs for the food projects. Both food volunteers and projects can register interest on Neighbourly.com or by emailing lidl@neighbourly.com.

Adam Doncaster, a volunteer at Central Community Centre in Scunthorpe, said: “The initiative is having a great effect on our canteen. It is helping us with ingredients, so we are saving money on purchasing. We are so grateful and have put a sign up in the centre ensuring that people are aware of the input Lidl is having on their community centre.”

The announcement follows Lidl UK’s signing of the Courtauld Commitment 2025 last year, pledging to collectively reduce food waste by a fifth and double the amount of food redistributed to 30,000 tonnes in the next four years.

*Neighbourly is a social platform that matches local projects with people and organisations to redistribute food surplus to good causes.

The news of the warehouse marks another multi-million pound investment by the retailer, following a series of recent announcements about the supermarket’s extensive expansion plans, including the opening of its newest RDC in Southampton and a planned new RDC in Doncaster.

Adrienne Howells, Lidl UK’s Head of Warehouse Expansion, commented: “With more British customers choosing Lidl as their family supermarket we are laser focused on the sustainable growth of our business.

“Once again we are delighted to reveal plans for another Lidl distribution centre in Great Britain, bringing investment to Bolton, new jobs and additional support to our existing and future stores in the north of England.

“We will be working closely with the Council to develop our plans for the site, and a planning application is likely to be forthcoming later in the year.”

Phil Wilson, Managing Director of Capital Growth at Harworth Group plc, said: “Logistics North has established itself as one of the North of England’s leading distribution locations and we are naturally delighted to welcome a leading company like Lidl to Logistics North.

“Our extensive work in both remediating the site and masterplanning it for employment uses continues to yield results for both Harworth and the site’s occupiers. We look forward to welcoming further occupiers to the site in 2017.”

The supermarket, which opened its first British based RDC in 1994, currently has warehouses in ten other locations up and down the country, including Northfleet, Enfield, Belvedere, Livingston, Weston-Super-Mare, Lutterworth, Newton Aycliffe, Runcorn, Bridgend and Southampton.

Last year the grocer announced that it would be relocating its warehouses in Weston-Super-Mare and Livingston to Avonmouth and Eurocentral respectively, as well as opening three new warehouses in Wednesbury, Exeter and Doncaster along with the expansion of its RDCs in Newton Aycliffe and Runcorn.

11th January 2017: Christian Härtnagel, Lidl UK CEO, said: “It’s incredibly encouraging that, during this highly competitive time, we have achieved our most successful festive trading period ever, following a year-on-year sales increase of 10%.

In the year that we were awarded Good Housekeeping’s ‘Best Supermarket 2016’, it’s clear that customers are continuing to be enticed by our resolute commitment to provide them with the best quality products at the lowest prices, particularly during the festive period.

Customers were once again won over by the quality and freshness of our fruit and vegetables this year, with sales of our festive ‘Pick of the Week’ products, including carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts and potatoes increasing by 60%.

With nearly three quarters of British households tucking into turkeys on Christmas day, our turkeys also proved particularly popular, with sales increasing by 40%. This followed our boldest advertising campaign to date, which truly shone a light on the quality of our products by inviting real customers to visit our suppliers and see the farms for themselves. As a result, research conducted by Kantar Millward Brown revealed that Lidl topped the list of adverts most likely to persuade people to purchase, which is a fantastic achievement and ultimately the key objective of any retailer during such a key trading period, demonstrating a clear translation to sales.

We are unwaveringly committed to helping customers save as much money as possible, and became the first supermarket to use our social media channels to put our prices into the public’s hands. Powered purely by Twitter chatter, customers were able to drive down the price of key Christmas products, including our MSC certified Lobster, which dropped to £2.99 and resulted in 40,000 sales in just one day.

We were thrilled to have been awarded ‘Own Brand Spirits Retailer of the Year’ at the 2016 International Spirits Challenge for the second year running, which is testament to our innovative spirits selection that included new offerings for Christmas, such as our Spiced Hortus Gin and our Ignis French Grain Vodka. Our Prosecco was another hero product this year, with sales more than doubling that of last year.

Our colleagues across the business continue to do a phenomenal job as we experience unparalleled demand, and we were proud to have once again become the first supermarket to announce an increase in salaries, matching the Living Wage Foundation’s recommended rate.

Going into 2017 we are absolutely focused on saving our customers more money than ever before, which we will be demonstrating through our brand new ‘Big on Quality, Lidl on Price’ campaign. We also remain fully committed to our ongoing expansion plans, which will see the opening of up to 50 new stores next year, along with two new Regional Distribution Centres, creating thousands of new jobs up and down the country.”